Portable fire basket



United States Patent Inventor Richard C. Treanor Rte. 2, Box 103, LongGrove, Illinois 60047 Appl. No. 827,774 Filed May 26, 1969 PatentedSept. 22, 1970 PORTABLE FIRE BASKET 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figs.

U.S.Cl 110/1, 44/35, 126/25, 219/260 Int. Cl F23b l/ Field of Search..219/260 1, 267-70; 317/98;.1 10/1F, 8E, 18, 21, 281) 5'95; 44 40References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS Wolfson et a1.

Raines Taren Rymer 1. MacLachlan Cohen Davidson..

Bean

l-leitz Czarnecki Behrns Primary Examiner--Volodymyr Y. MayewskyAnomey-Raymond 11. Nelson ABSTRACT: A fire basket device for solid fuelssuch as charcoal briquets, etc. which contains in combination therewithan electrical igniter device, said fire basket being portable in na-.ture.

Patented Sept. 22, 1970 5 Q 3,529,557

IV 1/ EN TOR.- Richard 0. Treanor A TTQR/VEY' 1 PORTABLE rum BASKET,

This invention relates to a device which is adapted to con tain solidfuels. More particularly, this invention relates to a container adaptedto contain solid fuels and which has incorporated therein an electricaligniting element, said container being portable in nature.

Heretofore, when utilizing solid fuel elements such as charcoal briquetsor other types of solid fuel, it has been necessary to initiate thecombustion of the fuel by some outside means. These means include theuse of paper, wood, or some other kindling material having a relativelylow ignition temperature, or in the alternative, a volatile chemicalsuch as lighter fluid, gasoline, or other liquid which also possesses alow ignition point. However, the use of these materials may be dangerousand a considerable hazard in starting the fire may exist, especiallywhen an inexperienced person attempts to ignite the solid fuel.

I have now discovered that the ignition of a solid fuel may beaccomplished in a relatively simple manner by providing a portable firebasket which contains the solid fuel such as charcoal with an electricalignition device whereby the solid fuel may be ignited in a relativelysafe and harmless manner and thereafter the fuel may then, afterignition thereof, be transferred to the grill while in an ignited stateand thereafter utilized as a source of heat for the cooking of the food.By making this device portable in nature, it will be simple for thedevice to be used in any place which is readily accessible to a sourceof electric energy such as electric outlets in a house or, if sodesired, the cigarette lighter of an automobile. By utilizing the lattersource of electrical energy it will be possible to use the device in anyplace such as parks or other recreational facilities which are notusually provided with electrical outlets. In addition, anotheradvantageous feature of the device of the present invention is that thesolid fuel which, as hereinbefore set forth, may be in the form ofcharcoal briqu'ets, is easily stacked in the device in such a manner soas to attain maximum heating and ignition of the fuel without having toadjust or reposition the individual pieces of fuel, thus requiring aminimum amount of attention on the part of the user thereof.

The prior art is replete with electrical ignition devices and withgrills which are utilized for barbecuing, etc. Such ignition devicesinclude electrical fire starters which are adapted to be placed in agrill and thereafter withdrawn subsequent to the ignition of the fuel.Other devices which are described in the prior art include grills orheaters or fire tray assembly supports, the latter three devicespresumably allowing some type of electrical device to be placed therein.However, in contradistinction io these devices, the present invention,as hereinbefore set forth, relates to the use of a portable devicecomprising a fire basket which contains in combination therewith anelectrical igniter device which is relatively light in weight and easilyportable from one place to another.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a relativelyinexpensive and easily portable device for initiating the combustion ofsolid fuels.

Another object of this invention is to provide a fuel container devicewhich provides, in combination a fire basket and electrical igniter,said device being portable in structure to permit the ignition andsubsequent transfer of a solid fuel to a cooking device such as abarbecue grill, etc.

In one aspect an embodiment of this invention resides in a fire basketfor solid fuels which comprises in combination a basket portion adaptedto contain solid fuels consisting of a bottom section and side wallsextending upwardly therefrom, said bottom section and side walls beingconstructed of a heatresistant metal, and an ignition device consistingof a heat conductive element, a heat resistant handle and electricalconnection means extending from said heat conductive element throughsaid handle to a source of electrical energy.

Other objects and embodiments will be found in the following furtherdetailed description of the present invention.

This invention consists in the following details as well as thecombination of the portable container and electric ignition device, saidinvention being more fully understood in the following further detaileddescription as well as the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. I is a top plan view of the structure of the invention, saidstructure comprising a fire basket and electrical ignition device;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the fire basket and the electricalignition device; and

FIG. 3 is one modification of the electrical ignition device.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings in which similarreference characters referfto similar parts, there is shown in FIGS. 1and 2 a solid fuel container 1 which consists of a bottom section 2, andside walls 3. The container for the solid fuels will consist of a fireresistant material such as metals including stainless steel or othersteels which consist of iron along with other metals such as nickel,copper, manganese, etc., or other combination of metals, the metalsbeing able to withstand the heat which is generated by the ignited fuelwithout altering the physical characteristics thereof. The bottomsection and side walls may be made of a wire mesh or, if so desired,they may comprise perforated plates, the perforations being of asufficient magnitude to permit sufficient ventilation for the ignitionand continued burning of the solid fuel. The particular configuration ofthe container may be in any form such as circular, rectangular, square,oval, etc. The bottom section of the container which, for purposes ofthis invention, is referred to in the specification and appended claimsas a fire basket may be provided with means 4 which are adapted toreceive leg members, not shown in the drawing, whereby the fire basketmay be placed in an upright position on said legs at some distance fromthe ground or floor depending upon where the fire basket is to beutilized. These legs may be of any suitable length ranging from 6 toabout 18 inches or more. In addition, if so desired, the legs may beremoved from the'socket means, said socket means containing in onemodification thereof, threads whereby the legs may be maintained in astable position, and the fire basket set on the ground or any otherplace on socket means 4. Alternatively, bottom section 2 of fire basket1 may be devoid of socket means 4 and the fire basket may then be placeddirectly on the ground. The bottom portion of the fire basket and theside wall portion thereof are securely maintained in the desired form inrelation to one another by means of a collar or sleeve 5, said collar orsleeve maintaining said bottom portion 2 and said side walls 3 in afixed relation to one another. In addition, the side wall portion of thefire basket, has provided on the upper edge thereof a second sleeve 6which may consist of a metal ring or U-shaped member whereby the upperedges of said side wall 3 do not contain any sharp projections thusfurthering the safety with which the device of the present invention maybe used.

The fire basket is also provided along one portion of side wall 3thereof with plates 7 and 7" containing an orifice through which theelectrical ignition means 8 is passed. Plates 7 and 7 are attached toside wall 3 by means of fastenings 9 which may consist of bolts, rivets,screws, or any other means for maintaining plates 7 and 7' in a rigidposition against side wall 3 and in a fixed relationship to one another.

The electrical ignition device 8 comprises a heat conductive element 10which may be of any configuration and may be formed of any heatconductive material such as a metal possessing excellent heattransmitting properties. As shown in FIG. 1, one form of the heatingelement 10 comprises two arms 11 and 12 extending substantially parallelto each other for a predetermined length and thereafter extendingoutwardly and forming a loop portion 13 at the extremity thereof. Asshown in FIG. 2 of the drawing, heating element 10 extends into the firebasket through a lower portion of the side wall and lies in a planeparallel to bottom portion 2 of fire basket 1. If so desired, heatelement 10 may be composed of a heat resistant tubular material such asmetal which contains a high resistance wire or wires which are not shownin the drawing. The

high resistance wire or wires are connected to a low resistance, highconducting pair of wires 14 which extend through handle 15. Handle 15 isconstructed of a heat resistant material such as a ceramic or plasticmaterial which is characterized by low conductive and heat resistantphysical characteristics. The handle-is securely attached to plate 7 byI conventional means such as lockwashers, rivets, etc. in such a mannerso that a stable and rigidly fixed relationship exists between handle 15and fire basket 1, thereby rendering the fire basket portable in nature.Handle 15 may be any length desired and in the preferred embodiment ofthe invention is of sufficient length so that the hand of the user ofthe fire basket is positioned a sufficient distance from the fire basketso as to obviate the use of protective gloves, the distance beingsufficient so that any heat from the ignited solid fuel will not affectthe comfort of the user. As shown in F 16$. 1 and 2, the end of handle15 opposite to fire basket 1 is provided with a conventional electriccord 16 and plug 17 which is adapted to be connected into a source ofelectrical energy. However, it is also contemplated within the scope ofthis invention that portion 18 of handle 15 may itself be provided withconnecting means, either male or female in nature, so that the cord maybe detached from the device thereby providing more portability to thefire basket without the attendant danger of having an electrical cordswinging about and creating a potential source of peril to the user ofthe fire basket device. In an alternative manner, it is alsocontemplated within the scope of this inven- -tion that handle 15 may beprovided with attaching means not 20 and 21 extending into fire basket 1in a manner similar to that shown in FIG. 1 and 2. That is, the heatingelement 19 extends into the fire basket through a lower portion of sidewall 3 and lies in a plane substantially parallel to the bottom portion2"of fire basket 1. Arms 20 and 21 of heating element 19 possessaconfiguration whereby arm 20 has loops 22 and 23 and arm 21 has loops 24and 25. Arms 20 and 21 meet at the outer end in anelongated loop 26. Asin heating element 10, arms 20 and 21 of heat element 19 may be solid innature or may be tubular, in the latter case the tubular materialcontaining a high resistance wire which is in turn connected to a lowresistance high conducting pair of wires 27 and 28. These low conductingwires extend into handle 15 and are in turn connected to the two polesof a conventional electrical cord 16.

It is now readily apparent that the device of the present invention maybe utilized to safely and effectively ignite a bed of solid fuelpositioned in the fire basket without the attendant danger which may bepresent when having to utilize an extraneous source of ignition powersuch as liquid hydrocarbons, paper, wood, etc. In addition the device ofthe present invention has the added advantage'of being portable innature so that, if so desired, a relatively small amount of solid fuelmay be ignited utilizing the least amount of electric current necessaryto cause ignition and thereafter transferring the ignited fuel to abarbecue grill which may contain an additional amount of solid fuelwhich will in turn ignite from the burning fuel which is depositedtherewith.

Although the device of the present invention has been described withreference to the drawings, it should be apparent that many modificationsand changes may be made, both as to the shape and form of the electricalignition device and the fire basket itself, the illustrative embodimentshaving been shown in the drawings, without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention, and that the present invention is not limited tothe particular preferred embodiments which have been shown and describedherein.

l claim:

1. A fire basket for solid fuels which comprises in combination a basketportion adapted to contain solid fuels consisting of a bottom. sectionand side walls extendingb upwardly therefrom, said bottom section andside walls emg constructed of a heat-resistant metal wire mesh, saidbottomsection is provided with means to receive leg members, and anignition device consisting of a heat conductive element, a heatresistant handle and electrical connection means extending from saidheat conductive element through said handle -to a source of electricalenergy, said heat conductive element extends into said fire basket froma position in the lower. portion of said side walls parallel to saidbottom section of said fire basket, and said heat resistant handle isstably connected to said side walls of said fire basket whereby saidbasket may be rendered portable. I

2. The fire basket as set forth in claim 1 in which said'fire basketpossesses a cylindrical configuration. 1

